Should employers be allowed access to employees’, job candidates’ social media accounts?

There’s a fight brewing in the Florida Legislature over whether employers should be allowed to peek into workers’ private social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook.

Last month, the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a proposal (SB 198) that would prohibit most employers from asking a worker or job applicant for his or her username, password or other means to access private social-media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter.

Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, told the News Service of Florida that he sponsored the bill because, under current state law, someone can be denied employment if they refuse to turn over their secret passwords.
“It’s a matter of where we draw the line and I’ve chosen to draw it at you can’t ask for somebody’s password,” Clemens said.

The measure doesn’t prevent an employer from accessing and viewing publicly available information on an employee’s social media account, and an amendment approved Monday exempts business-related accounts from the restrictions.

Similar measures are in place in 16 states, including New Jersey, California, Illinois, Colorado, and Utah.

Not surprisingly, business groups have lobbied fiercely against Clemens’ plan to do the same in Florida.

After all, a business could be liable for the actions of employees if they haven’t done a proper background screening in the hiring process.

Clemens’s proposal still needs to get through three more committees before reaching the Senate floor. A companion bill in the House (HB 527) has not yet been scheduled for any hearings.